Night of Thunder (Bob Lee Swagger Series #5)

Once you're in with the Swagger's you're never out

Like a breath of fresh air I always look forward to any book by Stephen Hunter but especially the Earl & Bob Lee Swagger novels.
They don't disappoint and this one is no exception.
If you have never read any Stephen Hunter start with the first Earl Swagger novel.You'll be hooked.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Page Turner

I was unable to put the book down. Very exciting and entertaining. The 'Good Guys' didn't always get their way and at times were stimied and hurt.
In the end the 'Good Guys' prevailed.

Very intesting tale!

I had trouble putting this one down and finished it within a couple of days. I love Stephen Hunter's writing he makes each subject he approaches interesting to read about. I was curious when I read the back cover at the book store how he was going to tie NASCAR into the life of Bob Lee Swagger and he did it in a convincing fashion without getting too wordy. This story takes place in what would appear to Mr. Swagger's waning years but you soon come to find out that the abilities are still there. He still has the ability to step up at what he does best, killing! Yet somehow Hunter makes him do so with moral conviction by appealing to the readers need for revenge for the person's wronged.

End of the line for old Bob Swagger?

I thoroughly enjoyed the earlier Swagger books as they were believeable and well written. This one left me cold, and mostly bored with a large number of pages devoted to almost meaningless details. The storyline itself was "sorta" different, but, as an old F-16 fighter pilot myself, I think Bob the nailer is just getting much too old and rusty for this stuff. It's time for Stephen Hunter to unveil a newer, younger character.

NASCAR & Bob Lee - Unique concept

Hunter's attention to detail, whether it's about long-range shooting, high speed driving or the safety features of Volvos makes his books great reads. His plots are complex and off the wall creative. If you like the south, nasty criminals and a thinking hero, you'll enjoy this tale.

Better Than the Last One

Don't get me wrong, I liked the 47th Samurai, I just didn't think it went with the whole Bob Lee/Earl Swagger series at all. These are guys born and raised in the South, and even though they've gone off to war, they always find themselves back in the South, dealing with enemies that only the South can offer. That's why I like Night of Thunder, because it goes back to that. My only complaint is that Bob Lee is getting older. Obviously this happens, but here we have Bob Lee taking on familiar enemies (the Grumleys and Pyes, refer to earlier Hunter books) while dealing with old age and a seriously torn up hip. I know he's dealing with the rage that comes from somebody trying to kill him and his daughter, but seriously? Maybe if Bob Lee was younger and dealing with the hip issue, okay, but now that he is older? I know that a lot of the things Bob Lee and Earl have gotten into, and out of, isn't extremely realistic, but I hate when authors start aging their characters. Once you get over the fact that Bob Lee is aging and has physical problems, it is a good book. It moves fast and has action in all the right places, as well as some of Hunter's usual suspense. The head badguy, while intriguing, isn't as captivating as some of the past badguys, but he's not terrible. Overall, it's a good read, and definitely a step back in the right direction after the slight detour of the 47th Samurai.

Great book for a long drive on boring roads or highways

Time just flew by as I listened to this book, I always enjoy the Hunter style of writting

Over the hill....

Well readers as far as I'm concerned auther Stephen Hunter has struck out on this book. The story is average, just a flat line story, nothing more nothing less....I think what the problem is, is that the great Bob the Nailer is old, which in itself would not be bad if Hunter had wrote a top of the line story. I got to be tell you fokes this book is just a simple read,there isn't much in it to keep you reading that extra hour or two when you have to go into work the next morning....It just seems to me that Hunter just wanted to chern out another Bob Swagger stroy and din't spend much time at it. I think readers would enjoy another Bob the Nailer story when he was in the war, as long as Hunter spent some time writing it. Oh well readers this is just my opinion.

If you like action/suspense, then Stephen Hunter's Bob Swagger character is your man.

Hunter continues to mature and deepen the Bob Swagger chacter as he spins a believable tale of action and suspense. Although slowing down due to age and past bodily traumam there still seems to be little that Bob Swagger cannot handle as he gets into full swing. Although some folks will shake their heads and feel that the Swagger character is just shor of a James Bond fictional creation, they forget the base upon which Hunter has built the Swagger character. Marine Scout/Sniper during the Vietnam War. Those guys are real. In many ways, they are perhaps the most dangerous people on the Earth (at least with a sniper rifle knife or almost any small arm weapon). And of course, Swagger is represented as the cream of the crop. Hunter will not be able to write enough Bob Swagger stories to satisfy me.

Hunter's worst

Being a huge Hunter (Swagger) fan I eagerly anticipate anything he's going to write. Unfortunately this one was painful to read, and very easy to set down. Not sure what happened here but after enduring Bob sword fighting in Japan, this was even harder to swallow. A word of warning, borrow this instead of buying and only after you've already read everything you have, better yet, go back and re-read the Swagger novels you fell in love with in the first place.

On track again

Swagger returns as good as ever. Moves very fast, hard to put down.

Bob Lee Swagger is back

This was the most fun Swaggert novel so far. Earl's books are OK Bob Lee's are great, and putting him in NASCAR country is a treat. It's an incredibly fast-moving story, and our hero has many opportunities to shine. I loved it.

Swagger meets NASCAR, comes home to the South

If you don't know Bob 'The Nailer' Swagger, then you have to go back and read Point of Impact, Black Light, Time to Hunt, Hot Springs, Havana, Pale Horse Coming, etc. In other words, while you can enjoy this book all by itself, it really helps if you've watched the character (and his father) come along over the years. This is a Bob Lee Swagger book, he the former Marine Corp sniper whose past keeps coming back to haunt him. This time, however, it's his daughter who stirs up the initial trouble. Swagger's grown daughter is a reporter for a small southern newspaper, investigating crystal meth. She gets herself in a jackpot when she crosses a Southern crime family, so Bob goes to Bristol, Tennessee during NASCAR race weekend to sort things out, which he does in his usually noisy way. Although the action is slow for the first half of the book, the Southern outlaw characters keep it interesting. The author filled the last half of the book with enough gunfights and violent confrontations to make it worthwhile. Throw in some fast cars, tricked out diesel trucks, helicopters, motorcycles, quick-draw cops, inbred hillbillies, and a half-million unwashed NASCAR fans, and you've got the basic idea of this book. If you've read enough Hunter, you know he likes to intermingle characters from his other books. I'm pretty sure someone here is related to the meanest hombre in Dirty White Boys.

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